Varicocele in childhood and adolescence. Evaluation apropos of a series of 58 cases

5 to 25% of the male adolescents present with a varicocele; only those cases inducing serious discomfort or affecting the development of the testis require surgical treatment. Nevertheless the results of surgery are disappointing with a high recurrence rate. Based on a better knowledge of the testicular venous drainage, it appears that the conventional high ligation of the spermatic vein(s) might not be sufficient to cure the varicocele, fifty-eight patients were operated upon using four different procedures. Only a complete and proximal ligation of all of the visibly dilated veins seems to prevent recurrences with a follow-up of at least one year. However, out of eleven cases treated with this original procedure, one patient, already operated upon twice without success, developed secondary atrophy.